A Coyote's Story
by Aria6
Summary: An alternate take on Bleach! Starrk has no idea why he's male. His original form, before he and Lilinette split, was female... and the most powerful Beta in existence. Unfortunately, he's suffering a heat during the battle of Karakura town. That gives his enemies the opportunity they need to easily defeat him, but what then? Shunsui/Starrk, mpreg sort of but not quite.
1. Chapter 1

_Why am I a Beta?_ Starrk's hand tightened on his sword as he felt the wave of heat travelling through his body. It started with his toes, slowly radiating upwards until it hit his brain. _I'm male! This is absurd!_ Cursing to himself, he reached for the pills Szayel had given him. They would suppress his burning desire to mate, but only for a short time.

Of course, he knew why he was a Beta. Starrk reflected on it as he put the pills to his lips, his hand shaking, and swallowed them down dry. His other half was female and neither of them knew exactly what their true form had been, but he absolutely knew one thing about it. Female. Not all females were Beta's but all Beta's were females, and his true form as a single hollow had been the most powerful Beta in existence. Briefly, he wondered why he'd been cursed with a male form when he split. Not that it would have made a lot of difference to his current predicament, but it was just intensely embarrassing.

"Oh my god, can you tone down those pheromones? You repulse me and I'm still getting an erection!" One of Barragan's fraccion complained and Starrk favored the man with the meanest glare he could manage.

"Try to bring your cock anywhere near me and I'll cut it off." He said, his voice a hoarse growl. Despite the temptation to mate with anything that came close, he knew better. If he allowed any of Barragan's fraccion to take him they would die, horribly, and leave him completely unfulfilled. They didn't have the reiryoku to withstand his horrific spiritual pressure. Barragan did and Starrk was so desperate that he was even considering it, but… no. If they mated he would become useless for Aizen's plans and that would just be idiotic. Assuming Barragan even wanted to mate him. He glanced at the Segunda Espada, but he was looking away with a pensive look. Maybe he was deaf in the nose. He was quite old, after all.

"As if any of us would want to touch you!" That was the weird, girly yet masculine one. Like a very bad transvestite. Starrk thought that comment was particularly rich, coming from him. "Or the girl either. My god that would be so wrong." Well, that at least they could agree on.

"Oh shut up! Starrk, gimme those pills, I'm dying over here." Lilinette groaned and he passed her the bottle. She tried to take far too many but he sternly made her put the others back. Too many sent them into a temporary coma and while they'd often welcomed that, today was definitely not the time to have his fraccion incapacitated. "Why did it have to be today? Just a few more days and the heat would have been over!"

"Just our luck I suppose." But Aizen hadn't picked the time. No, the invasion was meant to coincide with many of Soul Societies best fighters being trapped in Los Noches. So now they were about to go to Karakura town. The battle was going to be interesting, to say the least. Lilinette swallowed the pills as one of Halibel's fraccion spoke.

"I'm a Beta too… um… you do realize that a fight is a prelude to mating for a Beta in heat?" Mila Rose said and Starrk favored her with a damp eyed glare.

"No. I had no idea." He snapped back and she had the grace to look abashed. "Look, I didn't start as a Vasto Lorde. I do know how this works even if I've never successfully mated." Even as an adjuchas, his pressure had been too strong. He'd started out in the mid-range of the adjuchas level and gone up with mind-numbing swiftness. Even when he was a brand new hollow, his rutting spiritual pressure had killed other hollows. Maybe with Aizen's dampening someone like Grimmjow or Barragan might survive him, but it was still a bit iffy, for Grimmjow at least. Starrk sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Perhaps he should have taken his chances and mated a few days ago. But then his body would be busy rendering the energy absorbed into new life and disinclined to use anything to fight. Aizen would have been very unhappy with that outcome.

"It's time." Barragan announced and they all began forming their gargantas. Starrk's was the sloppiest thing he'd ever done in his life but he honestly didn't give a rat's behind. It would get them to Karakura town, that was all that mattered. After stumbling through he tried to orient himself and mentally cursed Szayel's pills. When were they going to start working, exactly? The heat flushing through his body was simply brutal!

His target was the shinigami with the kimono and the straw hat. There was a specific tactic Aizen had trained him on, specifically designed to take care of this one shinigami. Starrk knew he could perform it, he'd been practicing hard. Right now, though, he was painfully aware of his potential to become incredibly distracted and scattered. Aizen knew that too, of course. But he'd made it clear that he expected his Primera to try. If he died in the attempt, well, that was war and Starrk would be a casualty.

"So comforting. Oh wait, it's not." He mumbled to himself as he sought out his enemy. The small talk was almost non-existent. Frustrated, in a certain degree of pain and wanting to get home so he could rut on a pillow, he drew his sword and attacked.

They went back and forth, Starrk gritting his teeth and struggling to keep the heat manageable. At first, the pills seemed to be working. Unfortunately, the clash of blades was doing exactly what Mila had said it would… signaling to his instincts that he was facing an acceptable mate. Gradually, the heat began to build again and Starrk whimpered almost inaudibly as sweat began to bead along his hairline.

"HIRARI!" He glanced down to see Lilinette leaping at the white haired man. Unfortunately, he was egging her on.

"Don't worry. Juushiro won't do anything funny with that child." His opponent seemed to find it amusing but Starrk emphatically did not. He was sure the shinigami wouldn't do anything funny with Lilinette. He was less sure that SHE wouldn't do anything funny with HIM! "Pardon me, but are you well?" Kyoraku said as their blades clashed again and Starrk cursed to himself. The shinigami wasn't pushing him hard, was taking the time to study him and noticing all the oddities in his opponent. A bit of sweat trickled down his cheek and Starrk used his free hand to wipe off his face, blinking rapidly.

"…No. One moment." He rasped out before sticking his sword back into his belt. Then he reached for his pill bottle as the shinigami stared at him, taken aback. He opened it with shaking hands then jerked back in shock as a sword knocked it out of his hands. "HEY!"

"I don't know what that is, but we are enemies. If you're sick I'd be a fool not to take advantage." Shunsui said cheerfully and Starrk wanted to strangle the shinigami. Then they both looked down as they heard a scream.

"NO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Lilinette had managed to get her hands on Juushiro. He'd let his guard down, seduced by a child curled up and crying in what looked like pain. And now she was most emphatically doing funny things to him, latched to him like a barnacle with one arm and both legs while her free hand was busy in his pants. "STOP IT! OH MY KAMI WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING THIS CHILD?!" Juushiro struggled frantically to get away as Starrk bridled a bit.

"What are you saying about me?!" He demanded although truthfully, he knew. No little girl should be touching a grown man like Lilinette was touching this shinigami. Although poor Lilinette would have known how to do it even before she'd died. Starrk was aware of their dual histories, he'd remembered after his first heat as an arrancar. "Are you calling me a pedophile?" He roared and the shinigami looked up at him, brown eyes wide with shock.

"Well… I… no, but someone must have – OH KAMI! GET YOUR FACE OUT OF THERE!" Lilinette had taken advantage of the shinigami's distraction, using the brief moment to get her face in line with his crotch. She'd figured out the ties to his hakama and was threatening to do something very unchildlike to his member. "STOP IT!" Unable to stand the assault any longer, Juushiro used a kido to toss the rutting arrancar girl away. She hit the ground hard and moaned before looking at him desperately.

"I just need your cock! Please, I know I don't look right but I have to mate!" She appealed to the shinigami, who stared at her, horrified. Starrk rested his face in his hand for a moment. This would make everything worse but he couldn't see an alternative.

"Lilinette, come here!" He commanded and she whined before flying up, taking her spot at his side. He rested a hand on her helmet. "Kick about, Los Lobos!" And he took his resurrection in a burst of power.

Unfortunately, that immediately magnified the heat. Starrk groaned, bringing his guns to his head and gritting his teeth as the need for mating sang through him. It was becoming completely unmanageable and almost everyone on the battlefield was noticing. He was sure all of Barragan's fraccion were itching like they had fleas. Even if Barragan had no sense of smell, he'd be feeling the unmistakable spiritual pressure of a powerful Beta in rut. And the shinigami he was facing had no clue. Brilliant.

The bastard tried to take advantage of his distraction to cut him to pieces. Starrk took offense and fired on him before having to deal with a strange cyclone. But that was extremely easy to deal with, really. His fevered reiatsu smashed apart the cyclone and began bending at Kyoraku's shikai. That was Aizen's plan for him. All reality bending shikai's and bankai's had that fatal flaw, including Aizen's. Facing an opponent of vastly greater power, they could be rendered useless by the proper application of that power. Aizen's shikai had never suffered it because no one was stronger than him, but he'd used the tactic before to kill his enemies. Shunsui vanished in flash step just before a cero would have destroyed him and reappeared in front of the Espada, his eyes wide.

"What have you done to my shikai?" He asked and Starrk grimaced. This was NOT following Aizen's plan. He was supposed to have used that at a critical moment to gain surprise. That was lost now.

"You have a reality warping shikai. It forces other people to dance to its tune… but I am too powerful for such things. I am stronger than you." He stated the truth plainly. It really was nothing but the truth, in terms of reiryoku he was vastly this shinigami's superior. "You cannot make me play your games." Because that was the essence of Shunsui's shikai. It forced his opponents to play childish games.

"Well, that does make things difficult!" The shinigami said lightly but Starrk could sense his concern. And he was right to be concerned. To do such a thing, Starrk needed to be more than slightly superior in power. No, the gap between them was significant. "But you seem to be having difficulty fighting. And raw power doesn't guarantee a victory." Starrk grit his teeth. Oh, how he knew the truth of that.

"…" The fight began again and for Starrk, it just kept getting worse. He was firing almost blindly, struggling to avoid strike after strike. His reiatsu was spiking uncontrollably as he panted breathlessly, vaguely aware of how tight his pants were. This was… horrifically arousing. Why did the damned shinigami have to be so strong? He would clearly survive a mating and sire worthwhile cubs. His instincts were going mad! Finally, the Coyote could take no more.

"Stop!" He screamed at the shinigami and for a moment, he feared that Kyoraku wouldn't listen. But the man surprised him, jumping back and taking a breather. "I… I cannot fight you. Please, I've done all I can." That was directed more towards Aizen than his opponent. His overlord didn't seem to be paying any attention to him at all, but that could be deceptive. "I can give you the victory in less than five minutes." That wouldn't be a very satisfactory mating, but Starrk would take what he could get. "Just please… please…" This was the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done. What would the shinigami think? Was he even interested in males? "Please fuck me." He finished, closing his one eye as he felt his face heating with embarrassment.

"I… don't… what?" Shunsui said, sounding lost and confused. The white haired shinigami beside him was staring, his brown eyes wide. Starrk opened his eye and looked at them, realizing he had to explain.

"I… a long time ago, Lilinette and I were actually one hollow. When we separated, we took these forms. I don't know why I'm a man. I shouldn't be. As one hollow we were a female, a Beta, and I'm still a Beta. I'm in the middle of my heat cycle and you destroyed my pills." Starrk couldn't keep the anxiety out of his voice at that. He'd really, truly needed those. "Hollow mating starts with a fight, always. This is driving me insane… if you mate me, I'll be in a semi-conscious state for hours as my body renders out the reiatsu infusion. Please, just a few minutes and the victory will be yours." He appealed to them. If the shinigami with the chestnut hair could stomach the idea, he would easily defeat the Primera Espada. Shunsui tilted his head to one side, a smile on his face.

"A few minutes? I have more stamina than that!" He said teasingly and Starrk's heart lurched. The shinigami wasn't rejecting the idea out of hand. He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't. "Hmm… it's quite a sacrifice… Soutaichou will no doubt be impressed with my commitment to my duty…"

"Shunsu! No one will believe that in a million years!" His comrade snapped and Starrk blinked at the way the white haired man was blushing. The chestnut haired man laughed, but then became more serious.

"Indeed. But given the way he's escaped my shikai, I'm afraid this is only practical. And I believe his story. It explains why that poor child attempted to molest you. She was in heat too?" Shunsui asked and Starrk nodded. "I see… well, we do need a bit of privacy. If you're serious about this, put those guns away." He commanded and Starrk felt the instinctive pull to obey a strong male. Shoving his guns into his belt of pelts, he waited until the shinigami sealed his weapons and put them away. He might be in lust but he wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't go near the man with those weapons out.

Soon they were in a nearby alleyway and Starrk was bent over, his arms against the brickwork. He moaned softly as fingers breached his entrance and could almost feel the shinigami's confusion as he found the Primera was already damp and flexible. His anatomy was male but it was behaving in a female way… Szayel had commented on that too, when he'd examined the Coyote during a heat cycle.

"I know, I have a case of gender confusion. Please, just take advantage of it." He suggested and Shunsui laughed. There was a soft rustle of fabric and Starrk groaned as he felt a hard cock breeching his entrance, sliding into his tight, trembling body. It wasn't the least bit painful. No, it was just right, scraping across his insides and stimulating him in ways that were unbearably good. After denying his heat cycle for so long, anything would have been good, but this shinigami was big. Skilled too… Starrk writhed in pleasurable torment as the man behind him began to take him in a quick, hard rhythm. After a few thrusts that heavy cock found his prostate and Starrk arched with a tiny scream, his fingers digging into and crushing the bricks. His head seemed to whirl and he howled without thought, the sound of a wolf hollow satisfying a heat. Lilinette yipped along with him, her tinny little voice echoing through the dark alley.

It took much longer than five minutes. The shinigami rutting against him seemed to be in no hurry and Starrk panted as his insides were abused, his whole body trembling at those hard, skillful thrusts. A hand gripped his length, stroking him in time with their movements and it came to Starrk that his lover was experienced with men. He'd honestly never expected that and he was very, very pleased.

"Cum for me arrancar. I want to see what you look like." The shinigami commanded and Starrk whined deep in his throat. He really didn't want to do that. He wanted to get the reiatsu shot before he took any pleasure for himself. As strong as this man was, there was the potential danger that the Primera's release during a heat would kill him. He couldn't tell Kyoraku that, though, and the hand on his cock along with the length inside him… it was simply maddening.

He couldn't hold back. He wanted to, but he just couldn't. The Coyote howled as he found his moment of pleasure, his spiritual force exploding out from him in a way that was reminiscent of his resurrection. For Shunsui, it was like being in the eye of a hurricane. That brutal spiritual pressure rose to a soaring pitch, but the vast majority of the force was surrounding them, not touching him. What did touch them felt like an amazing caress, sliding into his body with a surprisingly lightness. Starrk gasped as his hips were gripped, the shinigami taking him with a few quick, erratic, powerful strokes. Then the man behind him stiffened and Starrk cried out as reiatsu suddenly assaulted him. That powerful fluid, infused with both DNA and reiatsu, was what his body craved. The heat abruptly snuffed out as his body accepted what it was given and began the process of rendering.

Starrk's legs gave out and the shinigami had to support him, with a small confused sound. Starrk hardly felt it as he was eased to the ground. This was a dangerous point… when a Beta accepted an Alpha and took their seed, the Alpha was compelled to guard them through the rendering process. That was the brief period when a Beta was completely helpless, their body busy rendering the reiatsu into an acceptable form for the child that would soon be growing. Even if an Alpha did not intend to stay, even if it was nothing but the satisfying of a rut, the Alpha would not be able to resist the instinct to defend the Beta. But Kyoraku was a shinigami. He didn't have that instinct and Starrk lifted his head slightly, his eyes blurry as he watched the shinigami depart. He was going to rejoin the battle and Starrk sighed, curling up slightly and cuddling his guns to his chest. He noticed, vaguely, that Shunsui had pulled up his pants for him. That was nice. If they happened to win, he'd much rather not be found by the other Espada with his bottom bared. Unable to hold back any longer, Starrk fell into a light doze.

There was no Alpha to guard him, but there was nothing he could do about it. The Primera would just have to take his chances.


	2. Return of the Greatest Power

"Fsnrk." Starrk woke up with a start. He immediately reached up to wipe the drool off his cheek. "Nnn… Lilinette?" His guns were beside him and snoring. Smiling to himself, Starrk pushed himself to his feet and tucked them into his belt before glancing around. There was no reason to disturb her just yet.

"I am in Soul Society." The pillars that held fake Karakura town in the Living world were gone. It had been moved back to Soul Society and the real Karakura town had gone home. "…So who won?" Starrk asked aloud. "Hm." Pausing to dust off his clothing, he went to search for survivors.

He found a several dead bodies. Arrancar and shinigami both, which didn't tell him much. There were figures moving in the ruins though. Starrk set out to accost a pair of them. When he got close enough he realized they were wearing the insignia of the Fourth, the healing Division. So they had been sent to gather up and heal any survivors… well, perhaps only the survivors of the winning side. But which side was that?

This particular pair were vastly below his power level so Starrk simply walked up to them, confident in his strength. Even with the churning power inside his abdomen, these two could do nothing to him. One of them spotted him and stopped, looking completely petrified.

"Um… Mikio… I've f-found an arrancar." His voice squeaked a little on the end and Starrk smiled to himself. That was cute. The other shinigami responded, sounding irritated. He was trying to lift a piece of stone off a fallen shinigami.

"Just give it konso." Well, that told him a bit about who had won. Unless Aizen had decided that any failures would not be worth preserving. The Coyote spoke, amused.

"I don't think he can do that." The shinigami trying to free the fallen one stopped his work and whirled around, shock and fear on his face. Then he steadied himself, squaring his shoulders.

"Who are you?" He demanded and Starrk sighed, reaching up to scratch his hair. Lilinette was still snoring softly, oblivious to the world.

"Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk." He said and the two shinigami looked sick. No doubt they assumed they were facing their deaths. However, Starrk couldn't see the point of killing them. They were just a pair of spear carriers, of absolutely no importance in the struggle. "Tell me, who won?" He asked before moving over to the fallen man. The one close by moved as if to stop him but Starrk just gave him an amused glance before reaching down and easily removing the rock that entrapped him. The member of the Fourth quickly began healing the stricken shinigami as the second man replied.

"Um, we did. Aizen is imprisoned now." He said nervously and Starrk lifted his eyebrows at the information. Imprisoned?

"I assume you couldn't kill him." He said, amused but also concerned. Aizen might not be very happy with his Primera's performance, if he ever managed to escape. "For how long?"

"Twenty thousand years." The man said, which made Starrk wince.

"Death would be a mercy." Forced to choose between imprisonment for all eternity – twenty thousand years was longer than a vasto lorde's lifespan by quite a bit – or death, the Coyote knew he would choose death. Being caged was his worst fear.

"Nnn…" There was the sound of a yawn and Starrk glanced down at his guns with a smile. "Oh wow, that was the best sleep ever. Hey Starrk, what's going on? Aren't you going to kill these guys?" She asked and Starrk glanced over the shinigami. They were both working on the fallen one now, struggling to save his life and ignoring the Coyote. And why not? It wasn't like they could stop the powerful hollow from doing what he wanted.

"No. What would be the point? We lost and Aizen's imprisoned." He explained as his guns made a confused sound.

"Oh. Okay then, he was a dick anyway. Making us fight in heat! Dick! So where are we going?" She asked and Starrk shrugged. There was really only one option although it didn't excite him.

"Back to Hueco Mundo." He doubted the shinigami would show him any mercy if he tried to stay. Well, unless they wanted to examine him and his unborn offspring. That was going to be a curious thing, the first offspring of the new line of hollows and half-shinigami, to boot. Not to mention his own peculiarities. Starrk was very concerned about that. He had a feeling he knew what was going to happen and he honestly feared it. "We're probably going to have to recombine." He said to his guns and there was a long pause before Lilinette spoke.

"Yeah, I know. I'm scared Starrk." She said softly and he nodded, gently touching her in the area she identified as her head. "What if we can't come back?"

"Then at least we will not be alone. We will have the little ones to keep us company." Starrk said and Lilinette sighed but didn't protest. It was true, although the children might eventually leave them. It was a normal thing, leaving the dam to begin the process of life in Hueco Mundo. But would the children inherit their strength? If they, too, were doomed to be alone because of their reiryoku, perhaps they would stay. Then there was a muffled yelp and Starrk looked up with a blink before snickering. The two shinigami had been trying to sneak off, carrying their wounded companion between them. But one of them had slid on a piece of loose rock and landed on his knees. "Oh, shinigami." He called. "Tell Kyoraku Shunsui that I will take good care of the gift he gave me." Both of the healers looked confused at that but Starrk did not stay to enlighten them. Instead, he concentrated on opening his garganta. Then he vanished into the black depths.

He had no intention of ever returning.

* * *

"Hmm." Shunsui sipped his saki thoughtfully before grinning widely. "Ah, Juushiro! I've done so much with my life. I've slept with more men and women then I can count. I've drunk enough saki to fill a small ocean. I've essentially given my noble family the finger in every conceivable way… until now. Now, I've had sex with an arrancar! My noble family will finally disown me! A dream come true!"

"It's not funny, Shunsui." Juushiro said sternly although he couldn't help but smile a bit. Shunsui's delight was infectious. "…Was it good?" He asked with a certain degree of morbid curiosity. Shunsui laughed before capping his flask and putting it away in his robes. They were walking to a meeting with Yamamoto and the other taichou. He didn't care much, but it would still be better not to arrive with a drink in hand.

"It was awe-inspiring. When he came for me… the way his reiatsu flared and caressed me… nothing could compare. I wish I could experience it again." His smile was soft with remembrance. But it faded as he thought of something else. "But from the way it felt, I think we were lucky. He was strong." Shunsui said quietly and Juushiro nodded. He hadn't been watching – he wasn't a pervert – but he'd still felt that tremendous explosion of reiatsu. Coyote Starrk's spiritual pressure had been mind-boggling.

"Just as well you didn't have to fight him." Juushiro said quietly and Shunsui nodded. Then they both stepped inside the meeting hall and took their spots.

Most of the reports were completely expected. A large number of arrancar had survived and scattered into the sands of Hueco Mundo, including Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Tia Halibel. Her entire fraccion were also alive and well… Yamamoto had left them alive and Orihime had healed them from the brink of death, because that was the sort of thing she did. No one had the heart to remonstrate her about it, although their own healers had just been giving fallen arrancar konso. One part of Unohana's report, though, merited quite a bit of discussion.

"Two of my shinigami encountered the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk." She said quietly and that easily got Shunsui's and Juushiro's attention. "He appeared to be completely unhurt. He asked them some questions about what had happened and did not seem particularly distressed to find that Aizen and his comrades had been defeated." There was just the slightest hint of disapproval in her voice. But then, the lack of interest Starrk had in the other Espada would seem odd to a shinigami. "However, he did have a rather peculiar message. He said to tell Kyoraku taichou that he would take good care of the gift he'd been given." That made all attention go to Shunsui, who just looked rather confused.

"I cannot imagine what he meant." Shunsui said with complete sincerity. Everyone else at the table regarded that with deep suspicion. Juushiro just put his face in his hand.

"Just tell them the truth. They're going to get it out of you anyway." He said gloomily. "Besides, I thought you wanted to be disowned. If your family never finds out they won't kick you out." That gained more than a few eyerolls. Everyone knew about Shunsui's feud with his family, although no one knew it better than Juushiro. He'd gotten to hear all about the Kyoraku clan's attempts to get Shunsui under control.

"An excellent point." Shunsui allowed before pulling out his flask. Then he stopped, slightly intimidated by the look on Yamamoto's face. "You see, that arrancar… he was able to completely escape my shikai. My bankai has a, hmmm, downside and I didn't want to use it. So when he gave me the opportunity to defeat him in less than five minutes, how could I say no?"

"Just TELL them already." Juushiro mumbled. But Kyoraku was going to move at his own pace.

"You see, the hollow said he was something called a Beta." That suddenly gained Mayuri's attention and he leaned over the table, staring intently at Shunsui. They both found it more than a little creepy but he continued gamely. "And in the middle of a heat cycle. He had pills to suppress it, but I knocked them out of his hands. He said if I just, ah, mated him the battle would be over. He would go into a deep sleep for several hours. So… I did! And that's precisely what happened." Shunsui said with a smile. "I should get a medal for my personal sacrifice in the line of duty." He said with absolute sincerity and just as Juushiro had predicted, no one believed him for a moment. But one person at the table most certainly didn't care.

"Incredible! Astronomical! A scientific opportunity of the first caliber! NEMU! Go prepare a proper kit for a field trip to Hueco Mundo!" Mayuri said, clapping his hands. Nemu bowed with a small 'hai' and vanished from the room. "Now, Kyoraku. Tell me everything about this arrancar. You keep saying 'he'. Beta hollows are only supposed to be female. Can you explain?" He asked and Shunsui blinked, taken aback by the scientist's sudden enthusiasm. It was Juushiro who answered.

"He said that he split his powers, a long time ago, and somehow that caused him to take a male and a female form." He remembered the little girl who'd done such unchildlike things to him and blushed. "He said his original body was female."

"Ah, I see. But how will that affect… Kyoraku, you said he passed out directly after you mated him?" A touch spooked now, Shunsui nodded warily. "Absolutely typical! Oh, we must secure this arrancar! Incredible!"

"Why are you so excited, you freak?" Zaraki asked, bored. He didn't care about all this talk of sex. He was more interested in killing something and this arrancar sounded strong. Maybe he'd go try to find it someday.

"Yes, why are you so excited?" Shunsui asked. He was honestly finding this rather creepy. "It was an interesting experience and I imagine he would be an amazing specimen for you, but I can't see why you're so… excited." Mayuri was acting like he was a toddler that had just been given a big, beautiful lollipop. The scientist laughed at them before explaining.

"You both clearly have no idea how hollows mate! But I do. Oh yes, I do! As you might know, research on the possibility of hollows and shinigami mating has always been forbidden." Mayuri said sadly, looking at Yamamoto beseechingly. But the old man just stared back, expressionless. "So I've had to content myself with pure hollow research. I know everything there is to know about hollow Beta's! Shunsui, you mated with a Beta in heat. Did he mention anything to you about reiatsu rendering?"

"Yes, actually, he did. I wasn't sure what he meant." Shunsui admitted, frowning slightly. Mayuri grinned before explaining.

"What he meant, my dear taichou, is that his body would render your reiatsu and DNA into a form that would harmonize with his own. Essentially, his body would ensure a conception." Juushiro went pale as he began to understand what Mayuri was getting at. Shunsui just smiled, a bit uncertainly. Like he thought it was a joke but he couldn't be sure. "The falling asleep after the mating is absolutely typical of a successful breeding! If you had been an Alpha hollow you would have been compelled to stand over him and protect him until he awoke from the rendering. Just after mating a Beta is quite helpless. Fortunately, he survived! And now I'll finally be able to observe a mating of a shinigami and a hollow, and I didn't have to break any rules to do it! I'm so happy!" Mayuri almost squealed, but Shunsui's thoughts were very far away.

"Wait. You're saying that I'm going to be a daddy?" He asked, his tone vague. Mayuri nodded, grinning. "And the 'mother' is an arrancar?" He asked and the scientist nodded again. "…My family won't just disown me, they'll strike me from the clan list! They may even try to assassinate me!" Shunsui said, then laughed. The sound was wild and free. "I'm so happy!" He said cheerfully and Juushiro hid his face in a hand again. When would his best friend ever grow up? Although he did have good reason to want to be disowned.

"Kyoraku Shunsui. We all know of your difficulties with your family, but please try to restrain your joy at your newfound fatherhood." Yamamoto rumbled and Shunsui did try to control himself. A grin kept peeking out, though. "Mayuri. Find this hollow and bring him or her to Soul Society. We cannot have such an abomination running free." He commanded and Mayuri nodded with a grin.

"Of course Soutaichou! We'll find him soon. Shunsui, I'll need you in my Division. We can create a tracker using your reiatsu signature." That made Shunsui frown. He didn't like where this had suddenly gone.

"Soutaichou? These are my children. I would not like them to be harmed." The word 'abomination' had suddenly raised concerns. It was Mayuri who responded.

"I would never harm specimens of such enormous value! They are unique, Kyoraku, unique!" The taichou frowned before glancing at Yamamoto. He didn't find Mayuri's enthusiasm terribly reassuring. Fortunately, the Soutaichou was willing to give him a bit more.

"We will have to draft laws dealing with such circumstances. But for now, these children are citizens of Soul Society and will be treated as such." The Soutaichou gave Mayuri a narrow eyed look. But he was entirely unconcerned and almost bouncing in his seat.

"I'm sure Nemu has the field kit ready. May I and Kyoraku taichou be excused? I really should begin immediately." Yamamoto nodded and they both stood, leaving for the Twelfth. Juushiro frowned after them before giving his attention back to the meeting.

There was still a lot to do.

* * *

"This isn't working Starrk." The tinny voice of his other half said and Starrk sighed, looking up at the moon. He wasn't sure where he was. Somewhere in Hueco Mundo, far from Los Noches. He'd decided he was uninterested in returning to that. Everything was broken anyway, when Grimmjow, Ichigo and Ulquiorra had trashed the place. Not to mention Yammy's release. No, there was nothing there anymore but a few broken structures and some scavenging numeros.

"I know Lilinette." He gently caressed the butt of his gun and then smiled as Lilinette made an outraged sound.

"HEY! Stop touching my butt! Geeze." She complained and he laughed. That was really hilarious, when they were in their released form. Then his smile faded. This was the other reason he hadn't wanted to return to Los Noches. The numeros weren't good people but they still deserved better than what would happen to them, if he did what he needed to do anywhere near them.

"We have to combine, Lilinette." He said sadly, pulling out his guns and regarding their silvery surface. What weapon would he have, when they truly became one again? Would they have any? Perhaps not. There was a pause before Lili spoke.

"It's okay Starrk. If we can't come back, just remember that I love you." Starrk smiled at that soft voice. Although…

"You know, you shouldn't assume I will be the dominant. It might be you. Or perhaps, neither of us. We will be… someone else." That thought frightened them both. The entity they had sprung from, who was it really? They could both remember that existence, but they couldn't be sure what it would be like to be that person again. "Remember that I love you, Lilinette." He said softly and she sniffled before flaring up at him.

"Just do it Starrk! The energies' getting unstable. Do it before you abort!" She commanded and he nodded, kneeling on the ground with the guns at his chest. The energy in his abdomen was becoming more unstable by the day, unsupported by the proper female organs. It was time to fix that.

Far off in the distant mountains, the strongest of the vasto lorde felt the change in the air. Bony heads lifted to scent the wind as power suddenly blew over the sands. Anything even remotely close died instantly, sucked into the black and green vortex that was the power of the Primera Espada. Slowly, a being unseen for decades lifted itself from the sands. Examining her clothing, she tore off the sleeves and part of the legs before tightening the belt. She was smaller than Coyote Starrk, although nowhere near as small as Lilinette Gingerbuck. Then, satisfied that her clothing would not fall off or hinder her movements, she began to walk away.

It was time to find a den.


	3. Coyote Gingerbuck

"We're getting closer." Mayuri was very pleased with the readings on his scanner. They were keyed to Kyoraku's distinctive reiatsu signature. At the moment, the hollow they were seeking was sharing that signature, albeit in a slightly different form.

"Taichou? There's… a lot of dead hollows here." One of his men said nervously and Kurotsuchi glanced over the carcasses dismissively. True, there were a lot of them but the hollow they were seeking was carrying young. It could be expected that she… was it a she?... would be ravenous.

"Mere adjuchas. I will handle the hollow if it becomes aggressive." He said and the man swallowed before nodding. He'd taken three of his Division to act as pack mules, carrying all the equipment and supplies he would need for this foray. Nemu was there as well, of course. She would be acting as his assistant. They would need to examine the hollow quite thoroughly after they had subdued it. He had several concoctions that should –

Mayuri's thoughts ground to a halt as one of his men screamed. Whirling around, he saw that all three of them had collapsed. His eyes widened as he saw the spiritual pressure literally being ripped out of them. It was a fantastical thing, nothing he'd ever witnessed before in his life. Their souls were sucked away, destroying their bodies and leaving nothing but empty clothing and gear on the ground. Yet, he could sense absolutely nothing that could have caused it. What was going on?

"Nemu!" She was stronger than any of those men but still only a fukutaichou. Mayuri swept her into his arms and shunpo'd away, back towards where they'd come. When he judged they were a safe distance away he set her down. "What was that? Let me see…" He would figure this out. "Drat." He needed the equipment on his dead followers. "Stay here." He ordered Nemu who nodded, her face a bit pale. Then he went back to the empty robes and gathered up the packs. He frowned as he felt a vague sense of pressure, but nothing else. Whatever had caused this was incapable of harming him, at this range at least.

Going back to Nemu, they both began setting up the equipment. Mayuri already had several theories. The energies they were dealing with might be too alien to register to his senses, thus being 'invisible' to him. However, if so they would not escape his instruments. Or they might be too powerful for him to sense, like Aizen when he'd absorbed the Hogyoku or Ichigo when he'd gained control of the final Getsuga Tenshou. Which would it be?

It was the latter. Mayuri looked at the readings on his instruments in disbelief. An obscenely powerful hollow reiatsu was swirling around them. His instruments could register the ebb and flow of it, painting an almost pretty picture of the currents. The invisible maelstrom was centred a reasonable distance away and seemed to be unmoving. Frowning, Mayuri considered what to do. This… thing might devour him if he got too close. It would certainly devour Nemu. But perhaps he could rig together some kind of shield that would protect him enough to approach.

It took some time to put that together but finally he was ready. Wearing a belt that acted like a very strong kido shield, Mayuri set out alone, pack in hand, to find the monster. Really, what sort of creature had Kyoraku mated? Kurotsuchi grinned to himself at the thought. Clearly his fellow taichou was braver than he'd thought!

As he got close he heard something. As he got even closer, he recognized it for the sound of someone singing. Eventually, the taichou of the Twelfth was able to make out words.

_He's the guy who's the talk of the town,  
With the restless gun.  
Don't you bother to fool him around,  
Keeps the varmints on the run, boy… keeps the varmints on the run._

Mayuri lifted an eyebrow at the extremely odd song. He'd definitely never heard it before. He continued his cautious approach, reaching for his tranquilizers. Then he stopped with a frown. The idea had been that he would overcome the arrancar and bring it to Soul Society. Clearly, that was absolutely out of the question. It would devour everything and if he tried to put a limiter on it, the young would likely die.

_You may think he's a sleepy tired guy,  
Always takes his time.  
Soon I know you'll be changin' your mind,  
When you've seen him use a gun, boy… when you've seen him use a gun._

_He's the talk of the West,  
Always cool, he's the best!  
He keeps alive with his Colt 45…_

Deciding to put that aside for now, Kurotsuchi came within visual distance of the hollow. To his slight surprise, it was quite… furry. Beside it in the sand was a great, curved blade and to its… no, her other side was a large gun. The gun was black with silver embossing.

The hollow herself, though, commanded most of his interest. She had a helmet with a broken horn and her hollow hole was clearly her right eye. The helmet made a bracket around the hole, framing the lost socket. Her hair was shoulder length and looked surprisingly soft. It was a dark chestnut, matching the fur on her body. Mayuri couldn't see all of it – she was wearing the remains of an Espada uniform, although the arms had been ripped off and the legs clearly been ripped to make them shorter – but he could see fur on her arms and legs as well as a fluffy ruff on her chest. The uniform she was wearing hadn't been designed with breasts in mind and she had fashioned some makeshift closures, punching holes in the fabric and running strips torn from her uniform through them. Her hands and feet were free of gloves or shoes and they were black skinned and slightly animalistic, with powerful looking black claws. Her single eye, as she looked at him, was a soft grey.

"You are alive." She sounded surprised as she stood, resting her hand on the hilt of the sword in the sand. "And so close to me… who are you?" She asked.

"I am Kurotsuchi Mayuri." He answered and she repeated the name, stumbling a little over the unfamiliar syllables. "And you are?"

"I am… Coyote Gingerbuck." She said after a moment's thought. "Why are you here?" She asked, an almost childlike curiosity on her face. "You really shouldn't be, I might eat you. I don't want to but I might." She said sadly and Mayuri blinked.

"I see. You are not in control of your reiatsu." He said and the hollow nodded, still sadly. "Do not fear. I'm wearing a shield. When it begins to run out of power it will alert me." This was only a makeshift device, he could make something better later. "You are the hollow who mated with Kyoraku Shunsui?"

"Not really." She said, picking up the gun beside her. Mayuri watched her carefully but she only caressed the silvery surface. "That was Starrk. This is for him." Then she reached out with her other hand and caressed the hilt of her sword. "This is for Lilinette. I was two people… it's strange to remember. I don't know if they can come back. But if they don't, I will have these to remember them with."

"Interesting – blast!" Already, his belt was flashing yellow. The horrific spiritual pressure of this creature was draining it rapidly. "Will you be staying here?" If she started to move around it would be inconvenient. But that helmeted head nodded.

"I have a den in those rocks. You see?" She pointed to a nearby rock formation and Mayuri nodded. It did look like it could easily harbor a cave. "I don't really need to hunt so I should be here. You'll come back?" She sounded wistful and Kurotsuchi could tell the hollow was lonely. Interesting and possibly useful. He was thinking of taking a completely different tactic with her than his original one. Of course, it would require the Soutaichou's approval but even so…

"Oh yes, I will be back." He assured her and she gave him a sweet little smile. Adorable really, especially the tiny fangs. "But now I must go." Suiting actions to words he quickly shunpo'd away. He didn't want to be close when the power on his belt ran out.

The reiryoku levels of that hollow were truly remarkable, and they flowed out of her without any kind of restraint. He would need a more permanent shield to withstand it.

* * *

"You have returned without the arrancar? Why?" Yamamoto asked as Mayuri grinned. Shunsui frowned as he watched the scientist. He was very pleased about something.

"I could not bring her Soutaichou. Her spiritual pressure is on par with Kurosaki Ichigo's or Aizen's." He said happily and Shunsui blinked as Juushiro bit his lip. Yamamoto did not look the least bit pleased. "It is impossible for me to even perceive, except by using instruments. It destroys anyone of lesser power who ventures near… I had to create a special shield to enable me to approach. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, the hollow is astonishingly quiescent. I want to request permission for a rather long field mission."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Shunsui asked, his mind going to the arrancar he'd had sex with. So he was a she now? He wondered what Starrk looked like. He liked women just as much as men so it was a very interesting thought.

"I mean I intend to join the arrancar in Hueco Mundo." Mayuri said happily, to the surprise of all the listeners. "Have you ever heard of Jane Goodall? She was a human researcher in the Living World. Not that I care about chimpanzees but she lived among a troop of them and gained very valuable data on their habits. I propose to do the same thing with this hollow and after she gives birth, perhaps we can convince her to reassume her male and female forms. Then perhaps we can trap her and bring her to Soul Society!" That was still his ultimate goal.

"You could try to talk her into it first, since you are planning to stay with her for nine months." Juushiro said, frowning slightly. But Yamamoto had other things on his mind.

"This creature. How great a threat is it to Soul Society?" He asked and Mayuri scowled as Shunsui and Juushiro exchanged a troubled glance. It was no surprise the Soutaichou's mind had gone in that direction but it was still worrisome.

"In terms of power? She could be a great threat. In terms of temperament? I haven't had much time to evaluate her but she showed no inclination towards violence." Mayuri said reluctantly and they could tell he badly wanted to protect his 'specimen' from unwarranted violence. "I will have a much better idea of her personality in a few months."

"We do know that she was an Espada." Juushiro said slowly. He didn't like to say it, but it was the truth. Coyote Starrk had been an enemy.

"But we don't know why." Mayuri shot back and Shunsui smiled to himself. It was so strange, how the scientist was defending the hollow. But then, he didn't want to lose his test subject. "And expecting a hollow to have any kind of loyalty to Soul Society is absurd! Why shouldn't she have sided with Aizen? He might have offered her a lollipop for all we know!" That made Shunsui suddenly laugh.

"Ah, can you imagine it? Here, follow me little hollow, I have candy… and I can picture Aizen doing it!" He said merrily and Juushiro shook his head with a fond and exasperated smile. That was definitely Shunsui. "He always did have that slightly creepy kind uncle aura. It should have been our first warning, eh?"

"And it is true, from what little we know this hollow has no loyalty to Aizen now." Yamamoto mused, stroking his beard. Starrks' reaction to the news had mostly been relief, from what they'd heard. "Very well… but Nemu must remain to oversee the running of your Division." Mayuri nodded, unsurprised. He'd likely planned to do that anyway.

"Indeed! Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get started. Creating a shield that will let me survive for extended periods will take some time." This would be a completely new challenge for him. He'd never dealt with a hollow reiatsu this powerful before.

Someone else, however, had. And for him things would progress more quickly…

* * *

"You're sure you can't sense it, Kisuke?" Ichigo said as he glanced around, the black sword of his bankai in hand. To him the reiatsu around him was oppressive, dark and powerful. Strangely, he could tell that his hollow was wide awake and trying to see through his eyes. He sternly suppressed the creature, scowling to himself. Why was it so interested in this? There was no answer from either of the inhabitants of his soul although he could tell Zangetsu was feeling apprehensive.

"Not even slightly." Urahara said cheerfully and Ichigo wondered how he could be so happy about this. To him, it wasn't a good thing. "It's beyond my ability. Fortunately, this shield should keep me safe from it!"

"I still can't believe you made that to shield yourself from me." Ichigo grumbled. Yes, his reiatsu had always been a bit out of control but wasn't that going a bit far? Kisuke shrugged, not responding as they continued their search.

They didn't have a scanner like Mayuri's, keyed to Shunsui's reiatsu signature. But they had Ichigo and he could feel the reiatsu. As overpowering as it was, it wasn't hard for him to bring them to the source, a pile of large rocks.

"Hmm hmm." Ichigo and Kisuke exchanged a glance as they heard a female voice. "Hmm… if I remove this one will it still be stable? Yes… yes, I think so. And then I'll have more room." The voice was echoing and clearly coming from inside the rock formation. There was a scraping sound as they circled, trying to find the opening.

"Strange. Do you think the opening to her den is on the top, perhaps?" Kisuke mused and Ichigo nodded before beginning to climb, the scientist following close behind. He found the hole easily and looked inside. He couldn't see a thing… because a very large boulder was being rolled out.

"Hey, do you need help?" Ichigo reached inside, trying to grip the boulder. A horned head poked up from behind the boulder, eyes wide and shocked.

"Wh-What? Ah!" She lost her grip on the boulder and fell backwards with a small yelp. Ichigo watched, surprised, as the boulder landed on her and shattered as she brought an elbow down on it. That had been exactly what she'd been trying to avoid – now she would have to clean the rock shards out of her den – but that was the last of the Coyote's concerns. "Get out! Get away!" She started frantically looking for something as Ichigo and Kisuke exchanged a glance of surprise.

"Hey, it's okay. We don't mean you any harm." Ichigo said soothingly then frowned as he heard his hollow giggle. And Zangetsu felt… fearful? "Old man, what's going on?" He muttered then gasped as his hollow abruptly tried to… not gain control, but flare his power? Ichigo hadn't been expecting that – it did the psychopath no good that he could see – and his power flared outward in a strangely controlled wave.

It was only strange to him. His hollow knew exactly what he was doing and the powerful Beta understood him completely. Her gun came out and she aimed it at Ichigo, eyes narrowed. He barely managed to jump back before a black and green cero of incalculable power split the air and sent bits and pieces of the rocks flying. Then the Beta followed the cero, a curving sword in one hand.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She shrieked, her sword clashing with Ichigo's bankai. She literally blasted him away with her power as Kisuke watched, stunned by the sudden violence. Ichigo had no choice… he reached up and pulled on his hollow mask. That caused another surge in his reiatsu and his internal hollow began laughing as the Beta became almost hysterical. "YOU CAN'T HAVE THEM!" Then their blades were clashing again and Ichigo was trying to defend himself, disarm her without hurting her. He didn't know it, but even that mimicked the pattern his hollow had in mind for him. "JERK JERK JERK JERK JERK! DIE!" Her sword raised sparks against his as she attacked again and again, single minded in her quest to destroy him.

"What the hell is going on?!" Ichigo snarled at his hollow. He knew the white psychopath was behind this. What was he doing to enrage the woman so much?

_You really want to know, King?_ His hollow sounded absolutely giggly. Ichigo growled in the back of his throat, anger pulsing through him as he had to deal with more ceros. Strangely, the female hollow wasn't that great a fighter. She seemed to be trying to overwhelm him with her power. _I'm an Alpha, she's a Beta. A pregnant Beta, carrying another hollows seed… I'm going to rape those cubs out of her and make sure she takes my seed instead!_ Ichigo's eyes went wide with horror at the gloating tone in his hollow's voice. _Why so shocked, King? I'm a hollow. It's my instinct… just as it's her instinct to protect those whelps with her life. Now, disarm her so I can fuck her._

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Ichigo had never been so repulsed in his life. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear! I won't rape you! Please, stop!" He begged her but she just screamed back at him.

"Liar!" There were tears on her face. Ichigo gasped as the blade suddenly slashed through his side, sending blood flying. He'd let his guard down in his pity for her but he couldn't. Even if she wasn't very good, she was fast and highly motivated. How could he stop this battle? Then his hollow suddenly tested his control and Ichigo almost screamed. He couldn't fight effectively if his hollow was doing that…!

_Yeah, that's the idea. I'm going to have her King. Let me take control!_ He demanded and Ichigo grit his teeth, denying his hollow as he met another cero with a Getsuga Tenshou. Then something truly unexpected happened.

"Cero Metralleta." The end of her gun glowed green. That was all the warning he had before a thousand ceros screamed through the air. Ichigo's eyes went wide just before he began dodging frantically. Weirdly, he could feel his hollow's lust.

_This is the best thing ever! The pups she'll make! WANT!_ If he hadn't been so busy, Ichigo would have facepalmed. And down below, something else was taking place.

"What in the worlds?" To say Mayuri was upset would be an understatement. "YOU!" He snarled at Urahara, who was looking up in the sky, slightly overwhelmed by the clashing reiatsu. "You brought a Vizard here? Are you insane?" Kisuke should have known about the likely reaction. The shopkeeper sighed, pushing his hat down more firmly.

"Yar, yar, I goofed. But how was I to know Ichigo was an Alpha and that she would react so strongly to him?" He said as Mayuri glared. "It was an honest mistake!"

"Idiot." Mayuri muttered, glancing up into the sky. The battle was getting extremely rough and Ichigo's hollow reiatsu was threatening to go completely out of control. Then he glanced at the taichou beside him. Kyoraku was frowning into the sky, his gaze on the female hollow who was currently going insane with the desire to protect her cubs. "Hmm… I know! Shunsui, you take care of the female. Grab her, smother her in your reiatsu, say soothing things to her." He instructed and his fellow taichou looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I think it's quite likely she would attack me." He said, honestly concerned. But Mayuri shook his head.

"You're the sire of her children and she's currently under assault from a strange Alpha. You will register as a trusted protector. Now, Kisuke, we need to contain the Vizard." Mayuri pulled a syringe out of his belt, grinning. "And I have just the thing…" Urahara nodded, pulling out Benihime. They needed to stop this, immediately.

Shunsui narrowed his eyes as he flew towards the hollow. Despite Mayuri's assurances, he wasn't too happy about this. But he could see she was exhausting herself. Even her endless well of strength did have limits and she was carrying children, which was a constant draw on her reiatsu. He deliberately flared his reiatsu and saw grey eyes go wide just before he caught her in his arms.

"Shhh. It's alright." Shunsui whispered in the hollow's ear as she whimpered and struggled for a moment. "I'm here. I'm here and you will be just fine." She lifted her face and he saw there were tearstains there, tracks of wetness from her single eye. It was a soft grey, just like the arrancar he'd taken.

"Sh-Shunsui?" She whispered before burying her face against his kimono, her shoulders heaving. "He was going to… going to…"

"I know." He said although he didn't, really. What had she thought that Kurosaki Ichigo would do to her? Whatever it was, Shunsui was sure it wouldn't have happened. Ichigo was a kind hearted young man. Of course, his hollow was anything but. Perhaps that was who she was talking about. "Tell me. What is your name?" He asked, gently touching her chin and raising her face. Her face reminded him of Lilinette, but this was the adult version. And her coloring came from Starrk. She blinked and reached up to rub her face, wiping the tears away.

"I'm Coyote Gingerbuck." She said shyly and Shunsui noticed she used the two names the other halves had preferred not to use. Had they known, somewhere in their souls, that those names were from their united form? "You came for me… I didn't think you would. I thought it would be just once. Thank you." She sounded so grateful. Shunsui smiled, gently rubbing her shoulder and feeling a bit of fur under his fingers. It was surprisingly soft.

"Of course I came. How could I not, when I found out you are having my children?" Plural. Mayuri was certain that with her base form of wolf, they would be having at least twins. No ultrasound had been done, though. It was much too early for that even if they could convince her to cooperate. "Come, Coyote. They've contained the Vizard." He was unconscious now, on the ground with Mayuri and Kisuke both looking after him. She looked down before snuggling against him in a way that seemed fearful.

"Can you please kill him? He was going to rape me." She said and Shunsui's eyes went wide as he tried to encompass that mental image. The thought of Ichigo raping anyone was absurd! He was not that sort of man. Although…

"Do you mean his hollow?" He asked and she looked confused. "He's a Vizard. A shinigami with an inner hollow."

"Oh. Yes, I suppose… he was flaring his reiatsu the way an Alpha would to make a Beta abort." She said nervously and Shunsui winced before pulling her close again. She clearly needed reassurance.

"Well, everything will be fine now. Come back to your den. I want to know more about you." He said invitingly and she nodded, less fearful now. Leaving the scientists and their prey behind, Kyoraku followed the hollow into her den. It was a bit of a mess, now, between the shattered boulder and the cero. Soon they were cleaning it up, but he didn't mind.

This new, female Coyote fascinated him.


	4. Sex in the Sands

_You really fucked this up King._

"I fucked this up?! What kind of drugs are you ON?" Ichigo asked, completely outraged by the accusation. Zangetsu was just giving them both a rather long-suffering feeling. They were currently sitting outside the den, quite a distance away. Even Mayuri had been welcomed by the gentle hollow Beta, but he'd been very firmly excluded. "Why are you so eager to have kids with her anyway?" It was pretty weird. He'd never imagined his hollow as father material. There was an irritated sigh in his mind.

_I swear King, sometimes… did you listen to ANYTHING funny hat said about hollow mating? _Ichigo frowned. Kisuke had gone over that as they were walking, largely because there was nothing better to do. He hadn't really been listening though. _That's what I thought. Look, hollows can't mate very far below their power level. It kills the weaker one. You defeated Aizen. What does that say about me?_

"There must be more hollows you can mate with than this one." He said, annoyed.

_No._ Ichigo blinked at the firm answer. _I'd guess that in all of Hueco Mundo there are MAYBE three Betas that can mate to us. Maybe as many as five. Now, you tell me King, where the fuck are they? Because I don't know. I could spend a hollow's lifetime searching and I don't have that much time. The chances of finding another Beta who can take my seed are zero. She's it. And now that she's got her fucking Alpha, I've lost my chance._ His hollow sounded very frustrated and Ichigo sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Good. I don't need kids right now anyway." He grumbled and felt his hollow bristle.

_Fuck you King! _He snarled and Ichigo scowled. _We just had to seed her. The fucking shinigami would have taken care of her and the Beta is the one that raises the cubs. Alphas hang around sometimes, but not that often. She wouldn't fucking blink if you left to go home._

"…That's not right." Ichigo said, repulsed. The thought of just leaving his children and their mother behind… no. He would never do that. "Look, you'll just have to wait until I'm ready for kids." They wouldn't be his hollows children, though, not the way the ones from a Beta would. There was a nasty snigger from his hollow and Ichigo blinked. "What?"

_You do realize that shinigami have the same problem as hollows, King?_ He said and Ichigo frowned, confused. What did he…? _Well, it's not as extreme. They can have sex with someone lower on the power scale without killing 'em. But the odds they'll have a kid? Ptth, as if. I hope you don't mind being one childless motherfucker._

"What?" This was all bizarre. He was really too young to even think about children, but he'd always taken it for granted that he could have them. And now his hollow was saying he couldn't have them? "Is he telling the truth, old man?" He asked suspiciously. There was a sigh from his zanpakuto.

_Unfortunately, he is._ Zangetsu said reluctantly and Ichigo swallowed. _I did not mention it because it is far too premature to worry about such things. Also, I had thought that Urahara might be able to help you. _Ichigo blinked at that. _The problem is the reiatsu levels of the sperm. If it is possible for him to… wash out the excess reiatsu before mating them to an egg, impregnation may be possible._

"Um… okay." Zangetsu had clearly thought about this. But then, he wasn't the first person whose soul had called out to the sword spirit. He'd probably encountered this problem before. "I'm starting to see why you're so hot on this. But you'll just have to wait." He said to his hollow. "It's not like she's going anywhere." Well, she might be but that would probably be to Soul Society. Mayuri was fairly open about his intentions towards her. Ichigo had no idea how she was taking it, though. Was she actually willing to go with them?

_She might. Alphas don't stick around that often but Betas love it when they do. And who knows what her cubs are going to be like with that shinigami for a sire? I do wonder… _ Ichigo listened as the hollow mused. _A hollow Beta's reiatsu rendering takes the power given and turns it into something the hollow can use. Wonder what she did with shinigami energy? And arrancar are sort of shinigami to start with. That's gonna be interesting. Eh, whatever. I'll just have to wait until she goes into a heat again._

"Um? When will that be?" Ichigo asked apprehensively. He really didn't want to be a father too soon, even if his hollow was incredibly into it. The hollow sighed.

_Not until the cubs are weaned. So I dunno. Four years? _He sounded depressed and Ichigo lifted his eyebrows, surprised. That seemed like a long time to be breastfeeding. _For vasto lorde the first two years are usually nothing but milk. Next two is a mixed of puked up, predigested meats and milk. _Ichigo blanched at that information. Although it did make sense, that was how animals would feed their young. _As soon as the pups aren't on the tits anymore, a Beta can mate again. The first few years of heats will be pretty bland, though. Easy to ignore if the Beta feels she's got too much on her plate and doesn't want another litter._

"You know, you should tell Kisuke this. I don't think he knows all this." Ichigo said, fascinated. His hollow suddenly seemed like a fountain of information. But then, this was a subject he clearly cared about. "Do you think they'll grow at the same rate as shinigami?" From what Kisuke had said, hollows typically grew faster.

_He was talking about adjuchas. Vasto lorde are so fucking rare… they're the last evolution of hollows. Most of the arrancar out there are adjuchas based and maybe their kids'll grow fast, but not hers. Shit, she is going to make some powerful cubs. Wish they were mine._ His hollow sounded depressed. Ichigo actually felt a bit sympathetic. _I could try to kill the brats to throw her into a heat but Betas usually don't forgive that… _ And the sympathy abruptly vanished.

"Don't even think about it you disgusting bastard!" He snarled and could feel his hollow sulking. He had no doubt the white psychopath would try it. Zangetsu sighed and Ichigo felt bad for him, living with his hollow all the time. "Whatever. I'm so bored. When are they going to be done in there?" What was he doing here? Nothing, just sitting around. He hadn't brought a book and there was nothing to fight. No hollows could get anywhere near this place.

_Whenever they are done._ Zangetsu said, which was true but not very helpful. Ichigo sighed.

Hopefully, Kisuke would need to go home for supplies soon.

* * *

"This game is fun!" Ginger said, smiling as she made her move, nudging a chess piece with one clawed hand. Shunsui smiled as he regarded the board. He actually might lose this. The hollow claimed she couldn't remember playing but he was willing to bet she had. Her recollections of Starrk and Lilinette were fragmentary, it was quite possible one of them had been passionate about chess. "Tell me. Do you have a family, Shunsui?" She asked innocently and he paused. The young woman was touching a great pain, although she couldn't know it.

"Yes, a very large one. I'm the second son of the most prominent family of a powerful noble clan." He said after a moment and she wrinkled her nose at him. That was possibly the most adorable thing he'd ever seen and Shunsui couldn't help but smile.

"You smell sad. Is this a bad thing?" She asked and his smile turned pensive as he made his move. It wasn't a very good play but suddenly, he didn't care.

"It's not a bad thing. But we don't get along." He said and the hollow nodded as she considered the board. Mayuri and Kisuke were both quietly discussing the next test they would run on her, but she paid them no mind.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know all about bad families." She said casually as she took her move. Shunsui frowned at the board. He was not in a good spot. "I can't remember Starrk too well, he was second. Lilinette was weaker but she was first. I remember what happened to her. It was her step-father… he was a very evil man." She said sadly and Shunsui winced, deciding not to ask.

"My family isn't evil. Just… inflexible." He told her as he tried to find the next good move. The Coyote moved so she was lying on her side, sliding a finger under her shirt to scratch at her ribs. That revealed a tantalizing line of flesh and Shunsui found himself mildly distracted. Her furry body was very, very interesting. He really wanted to touch it but not with the scientists in the den. "I could never fit in." He'd felt that from a very young age. Ginger nodded.

"You're more like Starrk then. I can't remember too clearly, but I think he never fit in." She said and Shunsui nodded. He was about to make his move when Mayuri interrupted.

"Coyote, would you mind letting us take a few samples of your blood and hair? Also, there is something we would like to try with you and Shunsui." Shunsui quirked an eyebrow at that. It was a bit alarming, having Kisuke and Mayuri working together again. There had been a bit of cordial sniping at first, but now they were united in curiosity. The hollow nodded.

"If you want." She said calmly and offered her arm. Shunsui watched as she passively let them take blood and some hair clippings. Nothing seemed to phase her… well, except for an amorous Alpha vizard.

"Now, Shunsui! I want you to sniff the base of her neck." Mayuri instructed and the hollow giggled as Kisuke smiled innocently. Shunsui felt like he'd just been invited to a vampire party as the star victim.

"May I ask why?" He asked, stalling for time. Mayuri gave him a very wide, teeth baring smile. He actually leaned back a little. Oddly, Ginger didn't mind it at all. But no doubt she'd seen much worse over the years.

"No. Please go ahead." Mayuri said pleasantly and he hesitated a moment before pulling the Coyote onto his lap. The base of her neck… from behind? Shunsui decided to go for that and buried his face against the back of her neck, breathing deeply.

At first, he only smelled a warm, animal musk. But then another scent seemed to penetrate him, going deep into the animal hindbrain. It was… he had no way to describe it. It was arousing, yet gave him a beautiful feeling of peace. He felt like he could just sit with her in his lap all day long, breathing in that intoxicating aroma. As he did, though, the sensation of arousal began to gradually increase. Feeling almost like he was in a dream, Shunsui slid his hands under that tattered white shirt, cupping the hollows' breasts. They were a good size, fitting his hands quite neatly, and his hands were not small…

"He's reacting like a hollow would. Interesting. It must be because the scent is partly based on the reiatsu she took from him." Kisuke. Shunsui found it vaguely annoying. Didn't they know he was about to do something quite private to the Coyote on his lap? She made a soft, needy sound before slowly rubbing her backside against his straining groin. Shunsui bit back a groan, rubbing her nipples with his thumbs. The sense of peace was helping him to keep from taking her right now, but it wouldn't last much longer…

"Mayuri, Kisuke. Get out of the den." She calmly ordered before suddenly moving around so she was straddling his waist. Shunsui wasn't pleased with the loss of that scent, but he was more than happy when it was replaced with a hand, slipping into his hakama and finding his little friend. Agile fingers began to stroke him with easy, practiced skill. Shunsui looked into grey eyes, remembering the man he'd taken. The female version was very different but just as desirable. "NOW!" She snapped over her shoulder and dark reiatsu flared dangerously. The two scientists finally took the hint, although neither one really wanted to. Shunsui wondered if they were leaving a camera then decided he didn't care. He worked on the female's obi, pulling away the fabric and revealing her sex. She gasped softly as he slid a hand between her legs, easily finding her nub and giving it attention with his thumb as he tested her wetness. She was aroused, but not as damp as he would like.

Shunsui smiled as he set about fixing that. Her shirt was held together poorly to begin with. Loosening the ties just a touch exposed those lovely breasts. They were as nice as he'd thought, perfectly formed and milky white, with dusky aureoles. Shunsui nuzzled her throat for a moment, catching echoes of that scent before lowering his head to catch one of those tantalizing nipples. The Coyote moaned breathily, her hand still busy in his pants. Shunsui groaned softly as she thumbed his tip, digging into the sensitive flesh. He tested her again and found that she was ready… pulling his hand away he ignored her disappointed whine, smiling into her face as he adjusted her so his erection was rubbing teasingly against her stomach.

"Oh, Shunsui… get inside…" She moaned and he laughed, kissing her and feeling her fangs before he gripped her hips and slid into her folds. There was a sharp gasp from her and he felt her body tremble. He kissed her again as he waited for her to adjust and his eyes went wide as he tasted the strangest thing.

_Mint and honey wine._ The flavor was like a pleasant tingle on his lips, a gentle bite in his mouth. Along with the wet, tight heat around his member, it was deeply intoxicating. He gripped her hips, slowly pulling out before sliding back in. She moaned, her little hands pressed against his chest as her insides gripped him like a glove.

"Kami, you feel wonderful in there." He whispered before claiming her lips again, his thrusts speeding up. She was actively participating now, meeting his movements with downward jerks of her hips. _Amaretto and honey wine._ A strange combination but ever so delicious…

Shunsui was vaguely aware of the power rising around them. It was a dark corona of black and green flame, terrible and glorious in its power. He didn't care though. All that mattered was the rise and fall of their bodies, the pleasure he was finding between her thighs. Lowering his face he captured a nipple again, rolling the firm flesh in his mouth as she whimpered, her hands tangling in his hair. Clawed feet bit into the stone, raising small chips from the floor as his cock laid claim to her from the inside out. She was so tight and hot in there, her little body wrapping around him as they mated.

He didn't mean for it to happen, but Shunsui felt his own reiatsu rising in response to hers. That hadn't happened in the initial mating, but then the Coyote had not been carrying his children. Golden power flared around him, caressing her body as her darker reiastu caressed his. For a strange, almost transcendent moment he imagined he could feel her body in addition to his own. The feel of his cock inside her, the way he was filling her and stretching her, causing a faint but oh so pleasurable burn, the way she was struggling to catch her breath as she came closer and closer to her orgasm…

That moment was too intense to last. Shunsui cried out as he felt her body clamp down on him, felt the echoes of pleasure jolting through him. Power erupted around them, circling them like a cyclone. His power joined it as he found his orgasm and gold, black and green power erupted outwards.

"What are you guys doing – woah!" Ichigo flinched and had to shield his eyes as the storm of power circled the den. Once, twice, three times… then it flowed outwards in a painfully destructive wave. Kisuke's and Mayuri's shields just barely saved them and Ichigo was pushed back several steps by the force of it. But his own incredibly powerful reiatsu was easily a match for it. A few hollows who'd ventured a bit too close died instantly, their bodies overwhelmed the unleashed reiatsu.

"How vexing." Mayuri was checking some kind of monitor. "They shattered my cameras and now my shield is mostly drained. It should have lasted three times as long… now I'll have to go back to Soul Society to recharge it."

"Mine too. I'll have to go back to the Living World… are you ready to go home, Kuroaki-kun?" Kisuke asked cheerfully as Ichigo flavored him with a glare.

"I've been ready all day!" He retorted as Urahara smiled. "Can we go already?" He desperately wanted to get out of here. If he wasn't welcome in the den there was absolutely nothing to do. Kisuke laughed and they all began to head out. The powerful reiatsu in the area would distort any garganta.

They needed to leave but soon enough, they would be back.

* * *

"This is harder than it looks."

"Everything worth learning is." Shunsui said to the tired hollow. She was lying on her back in the sand, her arms stretched out as she rested. Her great, curved sword was stuck in the sand beside her. The gun had been set aside. That was not the weapon they were working with today. "Although it's strange. Starrk was very nearly my equal." He wouldn't say the Coyote had been entirely his equal. With his centuries of experience, he was relatively certain he would have defeated the arrancar in the end. "Why are you so…" Shunsui struggled to find a polite way to say it. Gingerbuck laughed as she sat up, folding into a cross legged position.

"Because Lilinette was the first. She's stronger in me than Starrk." She rested a hand on her chest and for a moment Shunsui saw a deep pain in her eyes. "He was the stronger power but not the stronger person… he never really wanted to be in control, but she did. Yet, when I became two, Starrk was the strong one… I can't seem to find what he knows. He's silent within me." She sounded frustrated at herself. Or, perhaps, at the person within who refused to speak. "I think he's sleeping. So lazy." She muttered and Shunsui couldn't help but laugh.

"He didn't seem lazy to me!" The arrancar he'd fought had been a dervish of energy, tossing power everywhere in an attempt to defeat him quickly. The Coyote made a face, then laughed.

"He was rutting! He was probably desperate to get away from you so he could fuck a pillow." She said merrily and Shunsui blinked at the image. "But I'm ready now. Should we start again?" She jumped to her feet, pulling her sword out of the sand. Shunsui smiled as he drew his blades again.

"Of course." It was unlikely she'd need this even now – well, perhaps she could use it to keep away unwanted Vizard suitors – but teaching her to fight was something to do.

When they'd woken up from their first mating, they'd found that Mayuri and Kisuke were gone, along with Ichigo. Shunsui wasn't sure how long it had been, but they hadn't gotten back yet. He'd brought a few supplies of his own, so he wasn't hungry yet. He'd offered to share his tea cakes with Gingerbuck, but she'd declined. Not because she didn't want them – sweets were something the hollow had rarely experienced – but because they were all he had and she needed no sustenance.

"Peeka boo!" Shunsui was caught completely by surprise as warm hands suddenly went over his eyes. How had she…? She'd been in front of him! Then he suddenly realized. Coyote Gingerbuck was even faster than Starrk, which befitted her larger reiatsu pool. She'd moved so quickly she'd left an after-image of herself in front of him and he'd fallen for it. Laughing, he lowered his weapons and turned around, smiling at her. She was grinning at him impishly.

"I didn't know you could do that. Quite a surprise for an opponent!" He said admiringly. Although she wouldn't catch him unaware twice. Ginger giggled at him, looking so happy that she'd surprised him. "Do you mind if I call you Ginger?" He suddenly asked. It was something he'd been thinking about for a while. She looked surprised, then smiled happily.

"Of course! Can I call you Shunsui?" She asked and he smiled warmly at her. She was so adorably when she smiled, flashing those little fangs.

"Of course. Now, defend yourself!" He raised his weapons and she pulled her sword out of the sand. Now that he was ready for it, her stunning speed didn't take him by surprise again. It took all of his effort to match it, but he could and his skill was superior. It didn't take long before she was disarmed and pouting slightly at her loss. "One for you and one for me." He said easily, not minding conceding her an earlier victory. In a real battle, second chances were rare. She smiled and bounced to her feet again.

"Look, they're back!" She said and he turned to see Mayuri and Kisuke. Ichigo wasn't there, likely left behind in the Living World. "Hello!" She waved her sword with a smile and Shunsui couldn't help but laugh. That sword was absolutely huge for her, but she handled it effortlessly. It looked very odd though. Kisuke waved back with a smile. Soon the two scientists were back and Shunsui almost regretted it… almost, because they had brought plenty of supplies. They would be provisioned for at least a week. Shunsui smiled to himself as he thought of it. They might have enough supplies for that length of time, but he doubted the scientists would be able to stay that long. He planned to mate with Ginger as much as possible. If their reiatsu released so powerfully every time, Mayuri and Kisuke were going to have a very interesting time.

"So what have you been up to while we were gone?" Kisuke asked with an innocent smile that concealed not innocent at all thoughts. Shunsui wasn't fooled for a moment.

"Well, let's see. We ate some tea cakes and then I taught Ginger the joys of oral sex." He said sincerely as she made a small 'eep' sound, her one eye suddenly going wide. "And she taught me a very nice trick with her tongue – ow!" He'd just been slapped, not to his surprise. Kisuke had tilted his hat back, looking rather shocked. Kurotsuchi frowned, rubbing his chin.

"Interesting. Are you planning to do that often?" Shunsui smiled at him brilliantly before putting an arm around his sexy little hollow, who immediately forgave him and snuggled up against his side. "…Oh dear." Mayuri sighed. "I can see we'll need to rework our reiatsu shields."

"A challenge!" Kisuke was suddenly enthusiastic. "I can think of so many ways we could – " Shunsui immediately tuned them out as they began to brainstorm. Looking down at Gingerbuck he saw her smiling up at him with a wickedly impish air.

"Why don't we go back to the den and mess up their day? Then we'll have all the tea cakes to ourselves." She whispered and he grinned widely.

"What an excellent idea!" It would be such a pleasure to follow up on, too. She dashed away, her clawed feet sending the sand flying and Shunsui followed close behind, admiring the lines of her body. Her clothing was too large but that meant it often gaped in tantalizing ways and he knew exactly what lay beneath it.

He would have a wonderful time exploring her again.


End file.
